Category Archives: one of those days

The case of the “unknown pants”…………

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pYou have to understand, we live in a house where three people with memory issues reside. Maggie, the dog, has a best memory in the house. I cannot figure this one out. Just wish we could figure this one out.

When arriving home from church, yesterday, I discovered a strange pair of pants lying over a dining room chair. They were a medium gray pair with a white pinstripe. We had no visitors to match these pants and we could not discern how they came to be in our dining room. All of the doors were locked, all windows closed tight, and Maggie did not appear to have had a mid-morning snack. Yet, here they are and how did they get in the house?

Barry denies knowing anything about the pants, other than they did not belong to him. The pants were not meant for a tall man, Barry is six-foot tall. These pants are meant for a munchkin. To my knowledge, there have been no munchkins in the house. Is Maggie throwing neighborhood parties when we aren’t home? She does open the doors by herself when she really wants in a room, or out. I’m writing this and haven’t got a clue where they came from.

Mom says she is not positive, but she doesn’t remember any visitors leaving without their pants. Mom is probably the culprit. She does minor alterations for people. But swears she knows nothing. 

In a house full of people with memory issues, what do you do when something like this happens? Just another example of the mysteries of the human brain. How else can you explain this?

December 2011

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Today, this second Sunday in December, was difficult to get through. At the same time, it has been a joyous day! The love of my life suffered a stroke that should have taken his life, but through the grace of God and the miracles of modern medicine he is still by my side and we are closer now than ever before. Enjoy and make the most out of life because you NEVER know when you will be called to glory. Time is truly a precious gift from God. Barry and I have both been through a lot since 2009, but we are still here and still going strong.

Last year, at around 8:30am, Barry was assisting one of our residents with his morning care. The resident called for me to come quick. I got in the room and Barry said in a funny voice, “Honey, I can’t get up, help.” I leaned over to grab his arm, when I realized he couldn’t grasp my arm, I quickly told him to stay put and not to move. The thought running through my head, was “‘you’re the  strong one, Barry….You cannot be having a stroke!” I knew he was, but that thought would not leave my head. I called 911, checked on him again and went to get his medicines.

Gwinnett County EMS was on top of it that day, they were there in a flash and my heart sank as I watched them drive off with my sweety. I knew I’d never be able to drive, so I had called my sister to give me a ride. She was 20 minutes away. She made it in record time. My head was racing with all sorts of things that I could not shake. I was crying then as I am crying now telling this story. The local ER was on the ball and had Barry ready for transfer when we arrived, Kris and I attempted to keep up with the ambulance, which was impossible, so we decided to be safe. At the next hospital, Barry was already on the table having the “Mercy” procedure performed. True to the doctors words, Barry was regaining use of his left side within 12 hours.  

One year ago, I got the opportunity to fall in love with my soul mate all over again. The stroke took Barry’s filter away. He’s adorable and we are enjoying rediscovering each other all over again. I love him dearly and do not know what I’d do without him.

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This really happened….

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Anyone keeping up with us is aware that Barry and I had to close our business. We were not able to handle the patient care once Barry had the stroke. I was attempting to keep the business going with part-time help, but once we both were incapacitated to a certain point, we had to make the tough decision of closing. 

We decided to tell the resident’s on an outing. It will be an outing neither of us will ever forget. We went to Wendy’s for burgers. Our staff person and I sat the residents down and started numerous trips back and forth to collect napkins, ketchup, forks, salt and pepper. Barry went to place the order. Barry got my attention and pointed toward the tables. 

When I turned around, two of our four residents had opened their straws and were sipping ketchup from the little souffle cups Wendy’s supplies for ketchup. Everyone in the restaurant had turned and were stating at these two. What do you say? What do you do? I walked over to the table, sat down and quietly asked them to put the cups down. I told them their meal was being prepared, to have a little patience. They thought that was part of their meal. It was, but it didn’t need a straw……

The human brain is an incredible, as well as, strange organ. Through my years of nursing, I have witnessed many outrageous and many marvelous things. After 20 + years of nursing, I never would have put myself in this situation, but I can understand/sympathize with things I have witnessed over the years now. This brain tumor has truly opened my eyes to the world around me!

 

 

 

Things I can’t do anything about

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Sticking with the roller coaster theme, I guess it is time for another ride. Life appears to slow down and let you relax and then you remember or life smacks you with something else you have no control over:

1. having a brain tumor

2. having a rare genetic disorder that wrecks havoc on your body daily.

2. what is going to happen next.

3. your social life involves more medical professionals than actual friends.

4. With Cowden’s Syndrome, you never know what body part will go nuts next.

5. what doctors do with the list of medication they take from you at every visit. Do they ever look at it?

5. What reaction to the new medication the doctor puts you on

6. which doctor’s office your reaction to medicine will land you in

7. where you’ll end up after having a test to determine the cause of a new issue

8. what will come out of your husbands mouth at any time

9. what your mother will lose next

10. when your family will realize you are still inside a body that does not function properly

11. when your mother will stop looking at you as if it is the last time she’ll see you

12. whether your eyes will function properly when you wake up

This list could go on and on, these are just the ones that have frustrated me, beyond my limits, lately. I’m hoping the tides turn soon.

Wacky Wednesday Fashion Watch

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I know this is totally off my usual posts, but after today, it had to be said. I grew up in Winder where someone has approved proper attire for going to town as bedroom slippers, pajamas and curlers. I never did this, but today some 30 years later, it still happens regularly.

Where have the days gone when people used to care about how they look in public and what is appropriate to wear outside of your home? What happened to modesty? 

It isn’t just kids out there dressing crazy, it is also people our age? Growing up, we were taught that dressing appropriately leaves something to the imagination. You don’t want to show too many of your goodies off, you want to keep that special person interested.  If you put everything out there, what is left to discover when you do meet that special someone. 

Today’s fashions, or how some people wear today’s fashions is just wrong. In the south, when a man doesn’t wear a belt and his shirt is too short, it is called “plumber’s crack”. My question is…..what do you call it when a woman does it? I’m sorry, call me old fashioned or just old, but a whale tail is just wrong!

What next, part 2……..

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Well, echo scheduled for next week. Had blood work drawn at office. Hopefully, all is well, my heart just doesn’t like what my neurologist is doing to my body. My body doesn’t like taking a bunch of pills, I always manage some form of adverse reaction to medication changes. Life goes on, time will tell (and the tests too, of course). One day at a time, the only way to go….It’s in God’s hands

Things not to discuss in the car………

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There are certain things you do not need to talk about in front of your son-in-law, especially on a car ride. You know, when he can’t get out and run far far away…..

  • What you remove with a pumice stone.
  • The fact that you couldn’t find matching hose for church
  • What your supper did to your stomach
  • Discuss the type of underclothes you wear
  • Have a list of what is wrong with the house that needs to be repaired immediately
  • What you wish we had done differently to the house when it was built
  • What type bra you would like Santa Claus to bring

Secret Agent Man

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Snowman2rudolph-th-1Parts of this story and others are totally fiction.

Recently, our nephew was asking about the blog and we attempted to explain the reason we write. We also said we haven’t written about him yet and asked what he’d like for us to say.

He wants us to tell you all he is CIA Agent and lives in secret life in Winder. Well truth be told, he’d fit in better as an MIB agent on the movie screen. He’s good with gadgets and fixing things, he’d love to get his hands on a reverberating carbonizer. Not sure what he’d do with it, but we are sure he’d love it.

He’d have to be Agent Jay Two. Of course, with his little brother, he’d always have a partner/sidekick….Agent M and 1/2. That would be quite a movie remake. There would have to be a Ninetendo Wii or some other form of gaming system. The truth is that both of my baby sister’s boys are tech gurus. They love anything like that.

gamer hacker

I accidently deleted half of this post somehow when I hit publish, so please forgive me and I’ll finish quickly.

Both of my sisters did an incredible job in the kid department. Barry and I have an amazing group of niece and nephews ranging in age from 30 to 6. We also have a great niece and nephew. My entire family has accepted Barry as Uncle Barry without question. I have enjoyed watching Barry get excited as his relationship grows with each of them.

 My older sisters kids are successful adults and starting their own lives. We even have a professional dancer, a pastor (and husband) and an incredible, super mom in the family. Barry and  I are proud of each and every one of them.

Agent Jay 2  is an amazing kid that hasn’t realized to full potential yet. He’ll get there, I have no doubt. He is incredibly intelligent. At 14 he towers over me and Barry. I believe his feet get bigger weekly. I have had the pleasure of watching him grow into a handsome young man. Look out girl, heartbreaker in town!

I remember him as a child, locking himself in my car and giggling at me as I go window to window attempting to get the little rascal to unlock the door. I didn’t need an alarm clock when he was younger. He’d beat me in the head with his bottle when he thought I needed to get up. He was such a good baby and a challenge at the same time!

I wrote a previous post about Agent M and 1/2. He remains amazing and we love each of them dearly. We’d like to thank each of them for letting us be part of their lives. It has been a pleasure!

Snowman

Flashback

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There are a  few things that I have to do to ensure I function properly during the day.

1. Get my rest. Most important.

2. Do my exercises daily.

3. Drink plenty of fluids. To flush my system.

Number one  tends to be the most important of all, due to the fact that my body goes haywire without it. If I am tired, my eyes do not work correctly; I have trouble walking; I’m grumpy and a bit hard to live with. Last night proved my point. Thanksgiving really did me in.

On the drive home last night, I experienced an extremely unpleasant side effect, from the craniotomy, that I haven’t had to deal with since May 2009.  I was a passenger in the front seat of the van, watching the Christmas lights go by that people have managed to get up already.

Suddenly the car in front of us appeared to drive onto the sidewalk and up a telephone pole. I then realized that every car in front of us was doing the same thing. I told Barry what was happening and he suggested laying my head back and closing my eyes for a few minutes. His suggestion worked, after a 10 minute power nap, my eyes were able to focus and I got back to enjoying the scenery.

Double vision is not a fun to deal with, but I have to admit, seeing the cars go bonkers and driving up the sidewalks was a bit amusing. Remembering wearing an eye patch for 6 months, brought me quickly back to reality. That was NOT fun to deal with. An eye patch adds absolutely nothing for the way you look, unless you are Jonny Depp.

Although the holiday season is upon us, I have to make myself listen to my body. I do not like backtracking. I think I’ll increase my eye exercises a bit to ward off any weakness popping up. I will not give my eyesight up willingly. If it is meant to go, I’ll deal with it. Otherwise, I’ll be fighting it every step of the way!!!

PRE-Black Friday Rumble Revisited

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I just received a call from my sister, Kris. My dad was with us Thanksgiving Day. He heard my story about the handbag rumble, which has now spiraled into this:

Not only did the woman attack me for the purse, but the cops had to drag her out of the store after she attacked me. According to my pop, she now resides in the local jailhouse. 

Pop has always embellished a little, but I guess I’ve always just ignored it. We have all heard of the snowball effect, this one started as a little gumball and is currently at boulder status. It is actually kind of funny, but……….